


through the rubble

by thunderylee



Category: Kanjani8 (Band), NewS (Band)
Genre: Apocalypse, Canon Universe, M/M, dependent drug use, ritual suicide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-04-08
Updated: 2011-04-08
Packaged: 2019-01-28 00:46:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12594256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thunderylee/pseuds/thunderylee
Summary: Ryo joins the search-and-rescue team after an earthquake.





	through the rubble

**Author's Note:**

> reposted from agck.

Ryo left on a Saturday morning. The sun was bright and birds were chirping, the sky a complete 180 of the ground below like it was shining out of spite. There were even several rainbows scattered throughout the puddles of water that Mother Nature left behind in her rampage.

Shige watched him go, waving one single time before heading off to ground zero like a soldier, head held high and attention focused on the hard road ahead.

As the small frame disappeared completely, Shige wondered if this was what it felt like when your loved one went off to war, that pride swirling in your heart at their selflessness and what they were doing for your country mixed with worry and ache because you didn’t know if they would come back alive.

The difference was that he and Ryo were never together like that.

*

Koyama hasn’t stopped crying for five days. He’s basically moved in with Shige, hugging a pillow to his chest because Shige can only take so much clinging. The world won’t stop shaking and the storms are getting worse, and having one of their own in the middle of it isn’t doing much to help their peace of mind.

“Have you heard from Ryo-chan?” Koyama asks every morning, groggy from not sleeping until he passed out from the combination of stress and exhaustion.

Sometimes Shige can say yes. The digital network is the only method of communication available now, social websites overrun with people searching for others and checking in themselves since most of the post offices had crumbled to the ground. Shige’s family, like many others, had gotten in line to leave the country – there were several _day_ -long waiting times due to the large demand and lack of level airfield.

_I saw a baby bluebird today_ , Ryo’s message reads. _It reminded me of that ugly costume you designed me_.

Ryo’s messages are always like that – short and irrelevant. Shige asked him once, why he never reported anything about his rescue missions, and Ryo told him to read the news if he wanted a body count.

_Don’t let it shit on your head_ , Shige sends back.

“Ryo-chan is a hero,” Koyama sobs, and Shige cuts him off the wine. It’s from his collection that might have been worth something someday, but now there isn’t really a reason to hold onto it. It keeps Koyama calm, anyway.

Shige’s parents had wanted him to come with them, to seek safety in America or one of the many other countries that were offering refuge to the fleeing Japanese, but Shige wouldn’t go. He won’t go; he can’t leave. Not yet.

Not until Ryo comes back.

*

Yamapi left the country first. Nobody was surprised – they all knew he’d end up California with Jin, but not until his family was safe. He comes from a long line of stubborn women and his mother and sister were no different, refusing to leave until they woke up one morning to see someone’s car parked in their kitchen from the high winds.

“I should be singing in Taiwan right now,” he said regretfully as he headed off to wait in the departure line. Three days later, his plane took off.

Tegoshi was next to go, but he didn’t have a chance to actually leave. The next big quake took out the section of the country where he had returned to his family, and Shige knew from the news that there weren’t any survivors.

All Ryo’s message said was _Still with the face of an angel, he now becomes one_ , and Shige had to stand out in the pouring rain to cover his tears.

*

“California broke off into the Pacific today,” Massu says dryly. “You’d think they’d have evacuated everyone to somewhere flat and inland, like… Kansas.”

Something Shige never wanted to know about Massu is that he turns into a cynical, sarcastic bitch when he’s hungry. He doesn’t even remember how the usually cheerful member came to join him and Koyama’s pity party for two, only that he was armed with what looked like a combini’s worth of snacks and pleading eyes.

Shige didn’t have to ask after his family. The only reason Massu would have left them is if there was nothing to leave.

“There’s always Canada,” Koyama offers, his body shaking and his eyes red. It’s not from crying, though; they’ve long since ran out of wine, but Massu had brought with him a baggie of colorful pills and the blue ones seem to keep away the tremors. The drugs remind Shige of Kusano, who had relocated to New York right before the whole city was reduced to dust.

“Canada’s frozen over,” Massu replies, scrolling through Shige’s phone. It’s the most advanced out of the three and Massu’s makeshift power generator only has one connector. “Polar ice caps melted last week.”

They’re living in a tent in the middle of a field, what seems like the only unaffected area in the country. They’re surrounded by nothing, everyone else either dead or fled, although the rest of the world isn’t that safe anymore either. Nowhere is safe, except apparently where they are.

“Maybe Tego is watching over us,” Massu had said as the scenery fell around them. “Maybe that’s why Mother Nature is sparing us.”

Koyama had instantly sprung to his feet, shrieking to the heavens to take them already, and Massu had calmly grabbed him by the hair and shoved a blue pill down his throat.

Now he makes a noise of interest, which either means that one of the few remaining news feeds had updated – or Ryo messaged.

“My phone is dying,” Massu reads out loud. “Take care of yourself until we meet again.”

Shige feels like someone reached into his chest and twisted his heart. Portable electricity generators weren’t hard to make. There were public service announcements all over the place in the beginning, and with all of the lightning from the clash in air pressure, they were easy to keep stocked.

The only reason Ryo wouldn’t be able to charge his phone is if he was physically unable to access a generator.

Shige falls over himself to grab his phone, seeing the message for himself and fumbling to type a reply. What should he even say? _Do your best_ , his fingers press on their own. _Don’t give up yet_.

His cheeks burn with the truth, and he doesn’t even realize that it’s from the tears streaking down his face until Ryo’s final response is blurry.

_Don’t worry about me. I’m fucking immortal._

Two days later, Massu drones through the news report of the latest rescue site collapsing, mocking the special mention of a “former member of two Johnny’s boybands,” but Shige’s too high to notice anything except the pretty colors swirling in front of his eyes.

*

Time is relative. Who made that decision, anyway? Shige knows it has to do with the rise and fall of the sun and its placement in the sky, but according to his phone, the sun’s been shining for two weeks.

It would have been hard to sleep if Shige could tell the difference anymore. All he knows is how it feels, light and cotton-y like he’s weightless, and his face hurts from smiling. He’s happy, his veins filled with love and whatever is in those bright blue pills.

Right now, everything is beautiful.

“I think it’s time,” Massu says, and Koyama’s head perks up.

“Time to drink the kool-aid!” Koyama declares, dissolving into giggles because he’s been promoted to the orange pills.

It’s the black ones Massu lays out for them, even the color implying sudden death, and Shige thinks they’re boring. Then he watches his boring black sudden-death pill transform into a bomb and explode, painting the world with sparkles and glitter, and he grins at the shiny.

“Bombs away!” he exclaims, his own voice tickling his horribly dry throat as he tosses it into his mouth. They wouldn’t have made it much longer without water anyway.

After that, the world is a shiny disco ball.

*

“What are you doing just standing there, get out of the way!”

Shige can’t believe his eyes. People – or moving people-shaped masses – are shoving past him, going every which way, faces of every color and tongues of every language congregating together in this large room with a very soft floor. But all he sees is the man in front of him, the face he never thought he’d see again.

“Ryo,” he whispers.

The man turns to face him, glaring the same way Shige remembers as his wings flap angrily. “I told you to get out of the way. Don’t you see me directing traffic here?”

“You’re an angel?” Shige asks in disbelief. He doesn’t _feel_ high anymore; he doesn’t feel anything.

Ryo rolls his eyes. “Why does nobody believe I’d go to Heaven? I even had to make a deal with the head honcho after I was _buried alive_. Direct traffic at the gates and stay for free.” He sighs. “There’s still a lot of work to be done, Kato. You would do well to find someone to show you so that your wings don’t go to waste.”

Confused, Shige goes to blink and realizes the appendages sticking out of his back are also flapping. He manages to tear his eyes away from Ryo and look over the sea of people – _angels_ , most of whom are just as lost as he is and waiting for direction.

He finds Tegoshi first, leading what looks like a class of angels around the castle. Koyama is running around with a large clipboard, presumably checking people in, and not far away Massu is at the banquet table making food appear with his bare hands.

They’re all smiling.

Shige walks around, the clouds massaging his bare feet with every step. Over to the side, Yamapi and Jin are having some kind of wing fight while Kamenashi laughs at them. His parents wave from a higher floor, and he recognizes other people he’s known and met throughout his life as well.

Finally Ryo approaches him and does something he’d never done on earth. He envelops Shige with both arms (and wings) in a tight, full-body hug.

“I love you,” Shige blurts out, because it’s been weighing on his mind since before his time ran out. “I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you before.”

Ryo’s voice is deep against his neck. “I always knew, stupid. Be at peace now.”

And everything fades to black.


End file.
